This invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for dispensing individual sheets from a continuous web of material, and more particularly for a dispenser housing with a motorized roller transport mechanism for loading and dispensing the material.
Known electrically powered dispensers for paper towels and the like typically include a drive roller and an associated pinch roller formed on conductive metal shafts which are supported by a molded plastic chassis, with the pinch roller being spring biased into the drive roller. Other known dispensers support the shaft ends on separate metal plates that are attached to a common housing, and typically include a separate low friction bearing material between the metal plates and the metal shafts. The known electrically powered dispensers may also be provided with a separate special purpose grounding connection between the pinch roller shaft and an external ground terminal and with motorized roller transport mechanisms utilizing a proximity detector for dispensing single sheets from a continuous web. See for example commonly assigned Moody et al U.S. Pat. No. 6,871,815 entitled Static Build Up Control in Electronic Dispensing Systems and Denen et al U.S. Pat. No. 6,838,887 entitled Proximity detection circuit and method of detecting small capacitance changes, which are both incorporated by reference in their entirety.